I used to say this outfit made me look like a conquistador (not the time or place I was going for...) but once I cut my head off for internet-privacy-friendly sharing... it doesn't look so bad!

Anyway, I used to do a lot of reenactment before graduate school started devouring my life, but I still do some of the sewing. I made this shortly before starting graduate school out of inherited wool and leftover linen for the linen. The only thing I bought was the lacing, braided leather cord. I do machine sew, but I had sew the eyelets rather than use grommets (just my preference). It came out AMAZINGLY well. Now, if only it fit me. I generally have good luck with patterns and with wearing men's clothes, but for this pattern is became clear that I need to raise the waistline. I have subsequently made the coat from this pattern with a raised waistline but at the moment I don't have any pictures.

Action-free shots:

P.S. yes I also made the pants and the shirt. The pants are from one of Simplicity's many pajama patterns. If I saw the cover I would recognize it but I don't see it on the website so possibly it is now discontinued. The shirt is just a basic chemise, short, no pattern.

Once, I inherited something like 6 yards of this stiff cotton that just screams "Americana" to me. It seems like it could have been originally intended for kitchen curtains, apple pie, ice cream socials at the town park... mmmm. Anyway, I don't particularly like flower prints that much so I just keep it around for good mock-up fabric or to try things out. This is a fully wearably mock-up for something that still hasn't worked out quite right.I was trying to remake one of my most favorite tops:I love everything about this top: I love the lacking, I love the sweetheart neckline, I love the cap sleeves, and I love the back that zips all the way up. Although it's made out of stretch knits, I thought it would be awesome remade in denim. I like stiff slightly constraining materials. And, a friend of mine knew I reconned and gave me a pair of jeans he'd outgrown (so nice of him!). But first, I needed to figure out the pattern, and that is what you see above."Sleeve" details - some lace I had lying around.Lacing details.

As you can see in the first picture, the chest ended up bunching a little bit. I thought I knew what I could do to fix it and so I tried that on the denim... it's still a nightmare and I think I'm going to unpick it and try again... Unfortunately, I can't say it's likely I'll be posting it anytime soon because it's a real embarassment.

However, I wear this mock-up pretty frequently so at least some good came out of this venture

I got this t-shirt donating blood and knew what I had to do with it - UNDIES. I had recently found this pattern from this post (which tells you how delayed THIS post is), and now, I AM IN LOVE WITH IT. Never again shall I make bikini style t-shirt undies, this pattern is THE BOMB. I know the pattern says boxers but they fit snugly like boy shorts (no action shots of me in my undies, sorry).Rear: Starve a Vampire, Donate BloodFront: Note the gusset (I think one would call it). The pattern has lines to accomodate both external and internal body parts, and this is cut for internal (i.e. "lady parts").

And in closing I just want to say: I seriously love this pattern so much and everyone should try it.

Here's an underbust I made a really long time ago that never cinched in quite right, refashioned and now having a much better fit! It laces in the back, and I have it laced with two ribbons that tie in the center. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of the back and the corset itself is resting at my parents' house for the time being...

One of my roommates (the one pictured) bought this fleece to make a bean-bag cover (whatever) but one of our other roommates caught me in a tired and gullible mood and convinced me it was for a dress. After the fog cleared from my brain I announced that if she didn't end up using it for the bean bag (she tends to leave projects uncompleted) I WOULD make it a dress, just to spite them. This is the hilarity than ensued. I used a basic tunic pattern, then the boy helped me fit it, because I can sew but not tailor, and he can tailor but not sew (best relationship ever)Being tailored:Handstitched tag, because I'm adorable and obnoxious at the same time:Aaaaaand another picture of the boy fitting the shoulders, just because I like to look at him:You can sort of see how cool the neck is. I stitched it at an eighth of an inch and a quarter inch so it's very tough.

Sorry I don't have any pictures of it right-side out and full length. I couldn't get her to pose for me, probably owing to the fact that it's a long-sleeved full length fleece dress in summer.

I made this tunic "for my medieval combat group." Mostly, my motivation was to get rid of some of my scraps. I STILL have way too many left, but I got ride of the grey (wool), off-white (linen) and one of the greens (washable suede). I do wear it to fight in, but it's completely not period. The pattern is, but the velveteen? Hmmm.Mirror:Front:Side Panel: (Just a strip of blue linen. Side panels, by the way, best idea ever. They give a fantastic fit, and in tunics with sleeves, also fulfill a gusset role. Same blue used on the hems).

Guess what school I go to! Some old oversized t-shirts became two entirely separate pieces which should never, NEVER be worn together as they are here. I really like the shirt, but the skirt didn't turn out a nice as I'd like. I wasn't comfortable with words on my butt, so I'm wearing the logos on my hips. I don't know what I'll do with it, but it's very comfy. I'm thinking wear with the bathing suit? At the pool, I'm probably okay with words on my butt.

Whole thing:Shirt:Skirt:Strap detail:The black is gauze, so I reinforced the straps with strips of t-shirt, and I wanted to show all the stitching I did. It looks really cool in person and I got a number of complements.Sideviews and close-ups in my gallery, if you're interested.

I made this corset using the pattern generator found here: http://www.elizabethancostume.net/custompat/index.htmlThis is the side view which shows pretty much exactly what the pattern looked likeHere's the back. It's currently laced to tie in the middle because I've found that to be a really effective way of tying a corset or waist cincher, although it's not the most period way to lace this particular style of corset.

It's made out of trigger, bias tape, and grommet tape. The trigger and bias tape were leftovers from a tabard I made.

I didn't like the fit at all. I'm a bit too curvy for the flattening conical shape it's supposed to create.

I didn't have anyone to help me dress or photograph me, but I took some actions shots before I got rid of the thing (sold it as I didn't like the fit). Here's the best one:

I've been lurking for a while, and occassionally referencing for inspiration for even longer. However, this is my first project post. Check out some recons I have done over the years, the ones I have pics for at least:

This is one of my favorites. It is a Simplicity Pattern. The denim is an old pair of mom's jeans. The lining is an old tunic mock-up. The boning was from an older project. And the lacing is shoelaces!

Next we have the Communist Love Song (Soltero) T-shirt. It is a simple case of "write on a T-Shirt with Fabric Pin." I love it and can't wait to wear to my classes, which all seem to be about, well, the Russian Revolution.Back (sorry for warpedness, it is hanging):Front:

I made this out of an XL T-Shirt they sent us when they told us we were admitted. It's a simple tube dress, but I will probably be adding Tulle and Grommet Tape later, so more pics as that develops.yes you can see what school I attend. Please don't track me down and steal my identity or whatever it is people on the internet are theoretically doing to people who reveal this information.

Here is something really awesome I made with a LOT of red thread. Like whoa. The image t-shirt had unfortunate stains and even a hole in it. So I worked around that. The black used to be a long-sleeved shirt that I stole the sleeves on to Recon something else (no pics at this point)I shave sporadically at best. And Proud!The next day I decided to trim the sleeves with grommet tape, because my mother got me 100yds off cheaptrims.com. YAY MOMMY!Closeup:

These armwarmers go really well with the above shirt. I made them from a bag I had previously made, whose lining was ripping to shreds:I had other pics, but they aren't uploading correctly. Excuse the writing on my hand. I had to return a book to the library...

FINALLY, a costume. Theme: "End of the World"Front:Side:I may or may not have made this by, um, dotting a T-shirt with an accelerant and lighting it on fire.It's not an exact science, so you can see my bra. Sorry.

Hi everybody... I was wondering if any of the reinactment sewers could weigh in on a very basic project...

I fight foam-fighting. Trust me, I know SCA is cooler, my parents were in it, but foam fighting is on campus, and SCA is far away and I don't have a car. And it IS a really fun game, even if the combat is less realistic.

Anyway I've been fighting with-ish a unit for two years now, but I finally decide to really join, which means I need a matching tabard. I love being a boy; for the first year and a half or so the people I fought with didn't know I even owned feminine clothing. However, they are really really pushing for me to not wear the standard men's tabard. It is really unflattering, largely because it's, well, large, but I'm not sure if simply making a "rectangle with a neck-hole" in a smaller size would be good. They really want to me to wear what the only other girls wears. It looks like this:Sorry, that was the best picture I had. It doesn't actually tie, but it seems like, basically, a sleeveless martial arts top, so I was thinking about using a gi pattern or something. If I follow this pattern, I definitely want it to be longer down the hip, so I was thinking I would give it wide sleeve holes and slit it at the hips, bordering the slit in white as well.

But this is SO NOT A TABARD. I want to look kind of period, and kind of boyish, but for once I think I want to cave to their feminizing me... after all, I don't need to look terrible to look butch, right?

Any ideas? Do any of you wear tabards or something in place of them? How do they look? And thank you if you read through that whole rant...